1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a machine for shucking shellfish such as clams and similar species of shellfish including but not limited to clams, quahogs, scallops and conchs in which the shells are retained in closed position by the attachment of abductor muscles on the interior surface thereof so that the "meat" of the shellfish is protected. The shucker of the present invention is a water cooled roller shucker having a pair or plurality of pairs of parallel rollers which rotate in opposite directions and are driven from one end thereof by any suitable power mechanism to drive the rollers at a desired adjustable speed with each roller including a spiral rib on the external surface thereof to maintain the clams in upright position as the oppositely turning rollers move them longitudinally in underlying relation to a longitudinally elongated burner positioned above the top edges of the upright clams thereby heating the clams and causing the abductor muscles to be released thereby enabling the clam shells to open. Each of the rollers is water cooled to prevent the rollers from warping thereby enabling direct impingement of flame from the burners on the upstanding clams to effectively open the clams without overheating the rollers and without "cooking" the "meat" of the clams. The rollers are provided with inclined guide plates to guide the clams from a supply end along the rollers to maintain them in the upright position. The roller shucker of this invention can be used on board a vessel engaged in clamming or it can be mounted on a dock or other suitable location and is compact in construction but yet has a large capacity for effectively opening clam shells.